The Internet’s Effect on Value and the Economy

Although I am more productive than I have ever been I probably spend too much time on the Internet.  I love current events, so I could just read online news items all day.  So the Internet, like most things in life – all things in moderation, remember – can be a blessing or a curse depending on how one uses it.

Two items came to me in e-newsletters that I subscribe to that reveal the polar ends of the Internet issues spectrum.  From Harvard Business School I received this:

Working the Web Shift

The Internet employs 1.2 million people directly to conduct advertising and commerce, build and maintain the infrastructure, and facilitate its use. Each Internet job supports approximately 1.54 additional jobs elsewhere in the economy, for a total of 3.05 million, or roughly 2%, of employed Americans. The dollar value of their wages is about $300 billion or around 2% of U.S. GDP.

Source: How to Value the Advertising-Supported Internet

And from ZDNET.COM, there was this provocative article:

The Internet Devalues Everything It Touches

by Tom Foremski

Ever since I first heard about the Internet and then saw its incredible development and application across industries, I’ve been on the look out for the economic effects of this powerful platform technology. The specific economic influence I’ve been looking for is a strong deflationary trend. That’s when we will know when the Internet has truly begun to reach its potential.

Let me explain why. Read the article.

The Two Most Admirable Qualities in a Lead

The 2 Most Admirable Qualities in a Leader

When asked what they look for and admire in a leader and in a colleague, people put honesty at #1. But the second-highest requirement of a leader — that he or she be forward-looking — wasn’t applied to colleagues. 72% of respondents wanted leaders to be forward-looking, but only 27% looked for that trait in a colleague.

SOURCE: “To Lead, Create a Shared Vision” in Harvard Business Review, January 2009

New laws go into effect today – July 1.

These laws, among many others , passed by the Legislature during the 2009 session, go into effect today:

House Bill 150: Allows 16-year-olds to donate blood with parental permission.

House Bill 214: Restricts the use of tanning facilities by children younger than 18.

Senate Bill 2799: Provides for regulations on Internet pharmacies and gives the Mississippi Board of Pharmacy and the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics authority.

House Bill 1434: Allows patrons to take bottles of wine home from restaurants and provides for special permits to serve alcohol at events.

House Bill 1530: Establishes a program to combat obesity that would provide coverage for bariatric surgery as a treatment option.

House Bill 1623: Provides tax breaks for businesses in designated entertainment districts.

Senate Bill 2280: Bans young drivers from texting while the vehicle is in motion.

Senate Bill 2875: Establishes Mississippi Bicentennial Celebration Commission.

Senate Bill 3024: Creates claim for wrongful conviction in Mississippi.

Senate Bill 3049: Authorizes the Bureau of Fleet Management to seize vehicles found to be in noncompliance and requires fleet to become more fuel efficient.

Click here to read the complete article in The Clarion-Ledger.